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20 Jun 2005 : Column 862W—continued
NHS Overseas Staff
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many overseas staff are employed in the NHS in Northern Ireland. [5549]
Mr. Woodward: The information is not available in the format requested.
Parades
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost was of policing parades for which a form 11/1 was (a) completed and (b) not completed in each of the last five years. [3828]
Mr. Woodward:
The cost of policing each separate parade held in Northern Ireland, whether an 11/1
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(application to parade) form is completed or not completed, is not centrally held and is difficult to place an exact figure upon. To obtain such information would involve a manual trawl across records held by 29 District Command Units. This question can therefore only be answered by incurring disproportionate costs.
Patient Waiting Times
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of patients experienced waits of longer than (a) two and (b) four hours in each accident and emergency department in the Province in each of the last five years. [5350]
Mr. Woodward: This information is not collected in the format requested.
Personal Care (Elderly People)
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is on the introduction of free personal care for the elderly in Northern Ireland. [4387]
Mr. Woodward: The inter-departmental group's report on free personal are was submitted to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on 8 August 2002. Following discussion at the Executive, Ministers asked for further work on costed options to be undertaken.
The further work was completed but could not be reported back to the Executive because of the suspension of the devolved administration. I have, however, asked officials to bring forward the findings so that I may consider them in the context of other Budget priorities.
Phoenix Natural Gas
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Government (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to assess the effect on consumers of the proposed acquisition of Phoenix Natural Gas as part of East Surrey Holdings by Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd. [1057]
Angela E. Smith: The Department has a statutory role in relation to the Phoenix Natural Gas licence in the event of any change of ownership. Specialist consultants have been appointed to assist the Department in its assessment of the proposed Terra Firma transaction. The Department will consider all information relating to the transfer in accordance with its statutory obligation to promote the development of an efficient, economic and co-ordinated gas industry in Northern Ireland.
Police Oversight Commissioner
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of the operation of the office of the Police Oversight Commissioner has been in each year since its formation. [5522]
Mr. Woodward:
I have been informed by the office of the Police Oversight Commissioner that the operational costs since its establishment are as follows.
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| £ | |
|---|---|
| May 2000 to March 2001 | 404,434 |
| Year ending March: | |
| 2002 | 653,823 |
| 2003 | 785,930 |
| 2004 | 735,175 |
| 2005 | 715,206 |
Political Parties (Donations)
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what requirements there are on Northern Ireland political parties to publish information on donations; and if he will make a statement. [1265]
Mr. Hanson: Northern Ireland parties are currently exempted from the requirement to comply with part IV of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 that set out the control and disclosure of donations to registered parties. However, the Government have made clear that there should be a move to greater transparency in the political donation requirements in Northern Ireland, and we are currently reflecting on how best to achieve this.
The main Northern Ireland political parties, like other UK parties, are required to submit an annual statement of accounts to the Electoral Commission, who publish these statements. Parties whose total income or gross expenditure is less than £250,000 are required to submit a statement of accounts within three months of their year end. Those parties that exceed this limit are required to submit their statement of accounts within six months of their year end.
Post-primary Education
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will answer the letter to him dated 11 April from the hon. Member for North Down in relation to the future of post-primary education in Northern Ireland. [5551]
Ms Angela E. Smith: The hon. Lady's letter of 11 April was replied to on 27 April.
Prison Service Efficiency Programme
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the timetable is for the implementation of the recommendations arising from the review of the Northern Ireland Prison Service Efficiency Programme. [3470]
Mr. Woodward: Following publication of an independent review of the Prison Service's Efficiency Programme on 6 June, the Director General announced a strategic programme for the development of the service over the next 10 to 15 years. This wider programme encompasses the existing efficiency work.
The main plan is due to be prepared before the end of this year. However the full implementation of the plan will take a number of years, depending on various factors including consultation with interested parties and the availability of resources.
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Private Finance Initiative Projects
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total value is of private finance initiative projects in the Province granted approval in each year since 1997, broken down by department. [1412]
Angela E. Smith: The capital values of PFI projects which have been granted approval and a contract awarded are detailed as follows.
(61)These figures relate to the estimated costs for the provision of Information Technology Systems and services over the life of the contracts rather than capital values.
(62)This figure relates to the estimated costs of a contract for the provision of office accommodation services for a period of 25 years rather than the capital value.
Pupil Expulsions
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils were (a) suspended and (b) expelled from schools in each education and library board area in Northern Ireland in the last three years for which figures are available. [3495]
Angela E. Smith:
The information requested is as follows.
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| BELB | WELB | NEELB | SEELB | SELB | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1,277 | 882 | 1,107 | 919 | 914 | 5,099 |
| 2002–03 | 1,014 | 906 | 1,201 | 992 | 1,169 | 5,282 |
| 2003–04 | 1,191 | 936 | 1,286 | 987 | 1,085 | 5,485 |
| BELB | WELB | NEELB | SEELB | SELB | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 7 | 16 | 18 | 12 | 23 | 76 |
| 2002–03 | 18 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 70 |
| 2003–04 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 26 | 71 |
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